Pasadena Public Health Department

Protect. Promote. Live Well.

Pasadena Public Health Department Earns National Accreditation!

The PPHD has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)! Read the official news release.

Health Advisory - Mosquito-Borne Diseases

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) have issued health advisories for individuals traveling to Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, where there have been increased reports of mosquito-borne diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, and Zika. If you are traveling to one of these areas, it is important to protect yourself from being bitten by a mosquito. Click here to view prevention tips, such as wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, using an EPA-registered insect repellent, and choosing a hotel with air conditioning.

REACH MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Over the last decade, the
City of Pasadena has adopted several innovative tobacco control policies.
Despite the success of citywide policies, minority adults, youth, and children
in Northwest Pasadena still suffer disproportionately from the negative health
effects of tobacco use and secondhand smoke.

Funded by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the City of Pasadena Public Health Department has
launched an anti-smoking media campaign as part of the Pasadena REACH (Racial
and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) Project.

Three ads were created to combat the use of electronic cigarettes, flavored tobacco products, and mentholated cigarettes among Hispanic/Latinos and
African Americans in the city, focusing in Northwest Pasadena. Pasadena is a racially diverse community. The 2014 American Community Survey reports 37.9% of Pasadena's residents are White (Non-Hispanic), 33.6% are Hispanic, 10.5% are Black/African American, and 14.7% are Asian.

The Pasadena REACH ads can be
found throughout the city in the interior placards inside Pasadena Transit buses, in bus shelter displays, and through social
media starting mid-November. Click here to read the official news release.

Click on the image below to view the full ad.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. The following facts demonstrate the need to reduce smoking initiation rates and be a highly effective and efficient method of reducing long-term smoking rates.

According to the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, nationally, 86.9% of all adult cigarette smokers begin smoking by the age of 18. In california, 67.7% of current and former smokers start y the age of 18, and 98.1% start by the age of 26 according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

While California has the second lowest adult smoking prevalence, due to its size, the number of smokers in California still exceeds the individual population of more than 20 states.

The CDPH also identified two risk factors to illustrate the need for policy and systems approaches to address disparities in smoking rates. First, smoking rates decrease with higher levels of income. Californians with the highest smoking rates are the state's poorest individuals. Secondly, rates decline with greater levels of education.

According to the California Healthy Kids Survey, administered by the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), during the 2014-2015 school year, 16% of seventh grade students, 29% of ninth grade students, and 34% of eleventh grade students reported having ever tried electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).

A majority of California youths are gravitating toward e-cigarettes over traditional cigarettes. The CDPH has noted that recent declines in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among youth have coincided with an increased use of e-cigarettes and hookah, both of which can be flavored tobacco products.

African Americans and American Indian/Alaska Natives in California have a higher adult smoking prevalence rate compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

One study published in the Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that nearly 30% of all menthol smokers in the U.S. are African American.